Major US airlines oppose Air China bid to schedule additional US flights

By Reuters News18:35 (UTC), 18 September 2026 Updated

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A group representing major US airlines said on Friday it opposes Air China's 601111.SS bid to schedule additional flights from Beijing to New York and Washington as part of President Xi Jinping's planned meeting with President Donald Trump.

Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines AAL.O, Delta Air Lines DAL.N, United Airlines UAL.O and others, opposed the request because US airlines are effectively banned from flying from the US east coast to China because they cannot access Russian airspace, while Chinese carriers can for some US flights.

Two flights were requested for this week and next week but US airlines said adding them to the schedule could allow Chinese carriers to seek additional regular flights and they should be classified as charter flights.

In October 2025, the US Transportation Department proposed banning Chinese airlines from flying over Russia on routes to and from the United States, saying the reduced flight time this practice enables puts American carriers at a disadvantage.

But the proposal faced opposition from other US agencies and was shelved ahead of trade talks with China.

USDOT and a US lawyer for Air China did not immediately comment.

US airlines have long criticized the decision to allow Chinese carriers to use Russian airspace on US routes because it gives them the advantage of decreased flying time and burns less fuel, lowering costs.

The airline group in its filing released Friday said Chinese carriers have "shorter, less costly, and more economical routings on flights to and from China and the United States."

Russia has barred US airlines and many other foreign carriers from flying over its airspace in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the US in March 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine.

Chinese airlines were not banned and have been using this advantage to increase market share compared to non-Chinese carriers on international routes.